She didn’t send pretty invitations
Can’t say I blame her
It’d be tough to say I do
To a man who doesn’t love you

You said she knew all about us
But allowed herself to trust
It was the prayer she prayed everyday
That second place would be okay

I wouldn’t want to be her
She’s borrowed
I wouldn’t want to be you
So blue
I don’t want to be me
The only one telling the truth

I’m sorry I couldn’t stay there with you
The way you always wanted me to
Wearing a gown and settling down
It just wasn’t something I could do

I knew you’d find another
But it feels so soon
I’m sure she’ll make a good mother
I hear the baby’s due in June

I don’t want to be her
She’s borrowed
I don’t want to be you
So blue
I don’t want to be me
The only one telling the truth

I know that you love me
So it shouldn’t hurt so much
Now I’m the one who’s praying
That first place will be enough

When I see her with your baby
See you buy a home
Pass you in town someday
Will it be enough to know?
That you close your eyes and think of me
Will it be enough to be free?
I could never be her
But I still want you
It hurts to be me
Telling the truth

3rd Place
“The Ribcage & The Heart”
Danielle Knibbe
Toronto, Ontario

Same route and the same routine
65 straight down to Queen
But today there’s a hollow ache sitting smack between
Your ribcage and your heart

Sunlight through the windowpane
You close your eyes and let the street’s refrain
Wash over you while you contemplate
Where to go from where you are

All your life, all your life
Revolved around her
All your life, all your life will be divided into
Before and after

Two coffees beside two plates
Two toasts and two soft boiled eggs
One’s eaten and the other’s a blade
Between your ribcage and your heart

Only one side of the bed unmade
There’s still her indent in the pillowcase
The empty rooms echo the empty space
Between your ribcage and your heart

All your life, all your life revolved around her
All your life, all your life will be divided into
Before and after her smile
And her eyes

You’re not sure how nobody else seems to mind it
The birds are still singing, the sun is still shining
But your hand lying empty just keeps on reminding you

All your life, all your life
Revolved around her
All your life, all your life will be divided into
Before and after
Her

4th Place
“Waves”
David McMillin
Chicago, Illinois

Feel midnight blowing
Catch the stars at the speed of sound
In the desert wide open
Where the bar is shutting down
I’m running every red light
At 100 miles an hour
Toward a lover in a dream
With a siren song of sex and power
I want to lose myself in silence
Wake up with an empty mind
Forget the centuries between us
There’s an ocean that can shake these hands
Time is waiting
I’m hesitating
All these days
I’ve never known where to turn

How did we get here?
Where do we go now?
The waves will carry us
Somewhere, somehow

I see the world spinning
In the space behind her eyes
Take me back to the beginning
Pick my best disguise
Nobody needs to see me
Nobody needs to know my name
I’ve been racing through my life
Trying to find a flame
I put my heart into it
I let my breath run through it
I feel my hands move it
I’m getting closer
The sun is burning
I am learning
That all these truths
Have been a secret to me

How did we get here?
Where do we go now?
The waves will carry us
Somewhere, somehow

I wanna lose myself in silence
I wanna wake up with an empty mind
I wanna lose myself in silence
I wanna shake the hands of time

How did we get here?
Where do we go now?
The waves will carry us
Somewhere, somehow

Honorable Mentions

“I’ll Miss Love”
Joe Colavito
Ringwood, New Jersey

“Arms”
Chuck Martin
Gainesville, Florida

“Transitional Man”
Bernie Costello
Allenhurst, New Jersey

“Guardian Angel”
Angelo Santilli
Hopewell Junction, New York

“Triathlete in Training”
Chris Ray
Antioch, Tennessee

“When Love Arrives”
Colten Lyke
Bradenton, Florida

“All of Me”
Amy Dennis
Rockwall, Texas

“Let the River Do The Running”
Deborah Crooks
Alameda, California

“Curb Appeal”
Jennie Hayes Kurtz
Nashville, Tennessee

“Time and Space Begins Tonight”
Brandi McKenzie
Delray Beach, Florida

Related

Terms & Conditions

Comments

comments

Sponsor

Sponsor

Sponsor

Gain Access to the American Songwriter Vault of Resources with a Free Membership